Black 9th-graders Get Taste Of College Life

July 13, 1989|By MARK DI VINCENZO Staff Writer

WILLIAMSBURG — Vera Jones dreams of being a famous actress, but in case that doesn't happen, she plans to have a law degree "to fall back on." Shane Rogers wants to be an architect or a lawyer; Donald Epps Jr., a doctor or a lawyer; Angela Griffin, a psychiatrist or a psychologist.

No convenience store clerks or garbage collectors here. No small ambitions. Their dreams contain images of limousines, heavy wallets and even adoring fans.

These 13- and 14-year-olds are realizing - some for the first time - that becoming rich, famous and powerful won't be easy. They are among 42 black, rising ninth-graders from across the state who are learning about college life at an academic camp of sorts at The College of William and Mary.

Others are at Norfolk State University and Virginia Tech.

While hundreds of universities nationwide offer thousands of high school students - black and white - a taste of college life every summer, Virginia's Better Information program is unusual because the students haven't begun high school.

Officials at the state Council of Higher Education, Better Information's organizer and sponsor, don't think 13- and 14-year-olds are too young for college orientation.

"I'd rather deal with them at this age than when they're in college and I'm trying to keep them there," said Cora S. Salzberg, the council's coordinator of retention programs and Better Information. "This is long-range retention."

The search for the students began last winter and included thousands of phone calls to junior high school counselors. Applications and essays followed, and students who showed "even the least desire" to attend college were asked to participate. The only exceptions were students who counselors thought might "disrupt things," Salzberg said.

The result is most participants are excellent students whose parents attended or graduated from college and who want to go to college themselves.

But to children whose major school-related worries to date have involved memorizing four-syllable words for spelling tests, some college realities sound a bit cruel.

Like the revelation, which produced a chorus of "Oh, Lords," that some college professors require six or seven books per course; and the one about studying an average of 30 hours a week; and being required to keep up with assignments even if they get sick.

According to many of the students, college can't be much more difficult and time-consuming than this camp, which started Saturday and ends July 22.

Mondays through Fridays, they rise at 6 a.m., eat at 7 and are in classes from 8 to 5 p.m., with a one-hour lunch period and another one-hour rest break. Classes include computer science, pre-algebra, algebra, speech, writing, problem solving, study skills and art.

After dinner, they meet in study groups, and if they're not prepared, they must leave the group and meet with a private tutor. Some students say they're up as late as midnight or 1 a.m. doing homework to prepare for classes and study groups. In the two weeks they're here, they must write a three-page essay, the lengthiest some of them have ever written. Students who miss classes must have written permission.

Guest speakers include Virginia State University President Wesley C. McClure and NASA astronaut Guion S. Bluford Jr., both black. Most of the counselors and teachers are also black.

"Proper role models," Salzberg said.

Most free time is spent talking, listening to music, playing cards and reading, but the group will spend a day at Kings Dominion amusement park, at their own expense.

Although teachers and counselors say the students sometimes misbehave and act like the young teen-agers they are, most seem more intelligent and ambitious than others their age.

"These kids want to be mechanical engineers and computer scientists," said counselor James McLean, a student at Virginia Military Institute. "When I was their age, I wanted to be a mosquito man or something."

The Better Information program grew from 40 students at Virginia Tech last year to 128 at three campuses this year, but higher education officials hope to expand the program to five campuses next summer.

"It troubles me that too few students can be involved," said Gordon K. Davies, director of the state council, "but it's true, we don't know if this is cost effective."

To determine that, Salzberg said the progress of students in Better Information will be monitored throughout their high school years.

"We'll follow students to see if we've made a difference," she said. "Children being pulled away from school by outside factors such as drugs is a serious problem that the black community is concerned about. Programs like this one can build self-esteem; it can build scholars."